Action & Consequence – the Science of Ethics

There is a malady spreading like wildfire across this planet of ours. You have definitely, categorically, seen its symptoms. I shall remind you:

“If you too have run face-first into a wall at work and want to sue your employer, contact 1-800-NO-MORALS-AT-ALL…!”

“Going to court on an assault and battery charge? Then claim insanity with us as your representative at www.avoidinglife.com…”

“Like crime? Hate jail? Want to avoid those pesky prison sentences? Then VOTE FOR US! The Abstention from Responsibility Party, at all good corrupt polling booths near you….”

The world, or the population thereof, is constantly trying to escape the natural order of things. Consider climate change (the act of pollution with no regard for its results), the banking bailouts (irresponsible institutions protected from taking responsibility), terrorism (invading and occupying eastern countries with no consideration of their will to then subsequently assault and terrorise the “West”), and general law and disorder.

Let us get to the crux of it. It is a scientific fact that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In ethical terms, we call this Action and Consequence. You drop a penny? It falls. You donate to charity? Someone benefits. You steal a car? Someone loses a car. You cheat on your wife? You committed a crime. You believe in God? Allah? Odin? Then for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

In generations past, being a responsible, ethical person of moral integrity was considered a necessity, an obligation. It is perceived now to be something of a drag. A hindrance. Something older people talk about.

Why is this?

This is because it is easier to ignore such a rule. If you are a thief, a criminal, or a benefits fraud, then your whole existence is based upon seeking to avoid the consequences of your actions. If you can’t be bothered to study for your exams, or to kick your drug habit, or to discipline your child, this is all the same sickness. People are generally more afraid of responsibility than they ever have been.

Here’s the cure. No matter what you do, you cannot avoid the consequences of your actions. What you can do, is to make this Universal and majestic law work FOR you. The more actions you take in the direction you wish you go, the more steps you take along that path, the more you will be pleased with the results of your endeavours. And the further you go, the greater heights you will reach.

Sometimes responsibility is hard. I personally kneel at the feet of every parent who has had to admonish their child, every friend who has had to give another bad news, every spouse who has come clean and admitted their wrongdoing. The more you face the music, the better a view you get. And a better soundtrack.

Every decision you take forms and blueprints who you become. Taking more and more responsibility places bricks of character in-between the mortar of your integrity. You start off as a child. Then you take some responsibility and stand and walk. Then you take exams, and put your name to your work. You get taller. Then you get friends, then a partner, then children, then Grandchildren. You get bigger and more developed with every step you take.

So do not fear Consequence. Embrace it. Take it in your hands. Because the secret of Action and Consequence is embedded in the very words:

Act…I…on…con-sequence = I act on consequence, which is just a sequence of actions.

And this, I believe, will lead you to lands uncharted. And the view there is spectacular.